19 April 2011

The Sperm Bike in Copenhagen - World Exclusive

Just when you thought you had seen everything in the Copenhagen bicycle culture, the Sperm Bullitt appears on the cycle tracks of the city.

Yes. The Sperm Bullitt. This is brilliant. If you're cycling around Copenhagen, keep your eyes peeled for this bike.

Nordisk Cryobank (European Sperm Bank)is one of Europe's leading sperm banks and the company was looking at environmentally-friendly alternatives to how they could transport their sperm samples to the fertility clinics around Greater Copenhagen.

The company's CEO, Peter Bower, says, "The first idea was how we could deliver to the fertility clinics in a C02-friendly way. Shortly afterwards followed the idea of a custom-designed bike with a cooling system. Now, six months later, we can cycle around the city on our sperm cell bike."

The bike is more than just a rolling billboard for the company aimed at increasing awareness of the need for donors to help childless children around the world. Inside the head of the giant sperm cell is a cooler compartment designed so that the metal containers with sperm donations can fit snugly inside and be kept cold.

CEO Peter Bower rides the bike himself around town and he is constantly stopped by curious passersby who want to take photos of it or ask questions about the unique design.

The Sperm Bike is, like the company's sperm donations, a Danish product and constructed around the Danish Bullitt cargo bike from Larry vs Harry.

Producing the Sperm Bike was no easy task. It was constructed by the Danish company 10 Tons - who specialise in zoological and botanical models as well as paleontologic reconstructions, including full-size whales and dinosaurs.

With the tail, the bike is 2.9 metres long and fully-loaded with... um... sperm... it weighs 50 kg. About the same as my cargo bike with two kids and a bag of groceries.

Here are some photos that Copenhagenize took of the Sperm Bike last month:

An Aside from Copenhagenize... Why a Bullitt?
That it was a Bullitt from Larry vs Harry that was chosen for the Sperm Bike is not that surprising. From a marketing perspective, it is fascinating to regard how the brand has become cult so quickly all over the world. A loyal following of customers is something that any company dreams of and many bike brands have such a group. What I find interesting is why the Bullitt breeds so much creativity. There is enormous creativity regarding cargo bikes in Copenhagen but what we're seeing is that the iconic Bullitt is being used for purposes out of the ordinary. Here's a list off the top of my head:

Haha I honestly think its funny, but can see people here in the U.S. getting uncomfortable with it. On the other hand, I want to see people explain to the police how they didn't see a giant sperm in the road.

@ BritGatorDon't worry. A new one would be born, following the natural law of re-cycling. And in Copenhagen they practice "safe bicycle-infrastructure", so it would only happen if someone sends out millions of these bullitts simultaneously.

Hi Michael, I work in London as a correspondent for a fertility magazine in Brazil and am writing a short story about the sperm bike. I would like to ask your permission to use some of the photos you published here. If you can please answer asap to fnidecker@revistafertil.com it would be great. Thanks a lot,Fernanda

Hi Michael, I work in London as a correspondent for a fertility magazine in Brazil and am writing a short story about the sperm bike. I would like to ask your permission to use one or two photos you published here. If you can please let me know as soon as possible it would be great. Please answer to fnidecker@revistafertil.com.Best regards, Fernanda

Kilometres cycled by Copenhageners so far today

Copenhagenize.com is the blog of Copenhagenize Design Company. Online since 2007 and highlighting the cycling life in Copenhagen and around the world.

40 years ago Copenhagen was just as car-clogged as anywhere else but now 41% of the population arriving at work or education do so on bicycles, from all over the Metro area. 55% of Copenhageners themselves use bicycles each day. They all use over 1000 km of bicycle lanes in Greater Copenhagen for their journeys. Copenhagenizing is possible anywhere.